Pan Roasted Rabbit in Wine and Garlic Sauce is the best and easiest way to cook whole rabbit. I will show you not only how to cook the rabbit, but also how to make it flavorful and moist with minimum time and effort.
What does pan roasted rabbit taste like
The Italians and French, and also Russians eat rabbit the way Americans eat chicken, which is to say, quite often. Rabbit meat is white and tender, and in taste is very comparable to chicken.
How to defrost a rabbit
Usually, you will buy a whole rabbit that is frozen. It’s important to let it defrost in a deep dish (whether it’s a baking pan or a large plate) inside the fridge, as the process of defrosting a whole rabbit will release quite a bit of liquid and you don’t want your fridge swimming in raw rabbit’s juices.
What skillet to use for pan seared rabbit?
Your pan needs to be at least 12 inches as you need space in order to get that nice color on the rabbit. Space them too closely and the liquid will have nowhere to go, which means no caramelization and steamed rabbit instead of pan seared rabbit.
Make sure to use a good heavy skillet here, such as cast iron and make sure it’s a large one too. I used 12 inch Lodge Pro-Logic Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet in this recipe – it’s well designed, has a helper handle and sloped sides – very sleek looking for cast iron! And it’s one of my most used kitchen tools!
A more traditional looking cast iron skillet that is also very well made is this 12 inch Lodge Cast Iron Skillet – it never sticks or leaves weird black dots like other cast iron skillets do. And it has over 9,000 positive reviews on Amazon:
It’s very easy to get that nice golden color on the rabbit when using a large cast iron pan.
How to cut up a rabbit
Butchering a rabbit is no harder than cutting up a chicken. In fact, I used regular large knife that wasn’t even sharpened recently and it was just fine.
Rabbit’s bones are thinner than chicken’s and it’s very easy to cut. Much easier than it looks.
Lay a whole rabbit on the cutting board and prepare a large knife.
Cut the rabbit in 4 parts: back legs, 2 pieces for the bust and another piece front legs. Then divide the leg pieces in two so that each piece was only one leg.
That’s it! It took me about 3 minutes.
How to cook rabbit
Make sure to use either sunflower oil or olive oil (not extra virgin olive oil, but regular cooking olive oil). Sunflower oil is a better choice here due to its high heating point, but if you don’t have it, olive oil will do a great job as well.
Add the rabbit pieces and sear them on all sides until it is all well browned (5 minutes per each side).
Be patient when pan searing the rabbit
It’s important to be patient when coloring the meat – don’t turn too often. Season the rabbit with salt and pepper while it’s cooking.
Let’s add rabbit pieces to the hot pan and start cooking!
Deglaze with wine
Make sure that the pan is on medium heat now. Season the rabbit again and deglaze with white wine to get all the caramelized juices from the bottom of the pan. After the wine evaporated, we’re left with syrupy substance of the wine. Now add chicken stock.
Roast the rabbit
Put the pan with the rabbit pieces into the preheated oven and roast for about 30 minutes until the internal temperature is about 140 to 145°F.
One thing to keep in mind is that the meat will continue to cook while it is resting, and the internal temperature will reach the desired temperature of about 150°F.
Enjoy!
Interested in more pan seared dishes? How about these delicious recipes:
- Easy Pan-Seared Chicken
- Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs in Wine Sauce
- Dijon Mustard French Style Chicken and Potatoes
How to Cook Rabbit in Wine and Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, (or sunflower oil)
- 1.5 lb. rabbit, (defrosted and cut up)
- 3 cloves garlic, (chopped)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ½ cup chicken stock
- sea salt
- fresh thyme
- a splash of water
Instructions
Cut the rabbit down
- Using a very sharp knife or a meat cleaver, cut the rabbit in 4 parts: back legs, 2 pieces for the bust and another piece front legs. Then divide the leg pieces in two so that each piece was only one leg.
Pan Sear the Rabbit
- Heat a large pan on medium-high heat and add oil to the pan. Add the rabbit pieces and sear them on all sides until it is all well browned (5 minutes per each side). It's important to be patient when coloring the meat - don't turn too often. Season the rabbit with salt and pepper while it's cooking.
- Reduce the heat slightly and add chopped garlic to the pan. Brown the garlic while continuing to cook rabbit, about 2-3 minutes. Make sure that the pan is not too hot at this point.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Make sure that the pan is on medium heat now. Season the rabbit again and deglaze with white wine to get all the caramelized juices from the bottom of the pan. After the wine evaporated, we're left with syrupy substance of the wine. Now add chicken stock.
- Put the pan with the rabbit pieces into the preheated oven and roast for about 30 minutes until the internal temperature is about 140 to 145°F.One thing to keep in mind is that the meat will continue to cook while it is resting, and the internal temperature will reach the desired temperature of about 150°F.
- Serve with fresh thyme.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Bob R says
I got a domestic rabbit,more expensive n\but tender and juicy. The recipe is spot on! My only change was red wine (I had no white).
Olga says
I’m so glad your domestic rabbit was so tasty!
Sinead Roth says
What do you suggest you serve along side this dish..I’m not a lover of pasta…any ideas? X
Olga says
How about Lemon Garlic Beans or Creamy Bacon Brussels Sprouts?
Catherine says
If your rabbits came from China, are you concerned at all about how they were raised? Ie is is factory farming?Antibiotics or hormones they might have been given? What they were fed? I buy mine from a local farmers market. If they didn’t have it, I think I’d try to find another source, but don’t think I would buy it raised in China…
Olga says
I was concerned quite a bit actually. Next time I did it – I also found a local farmers market.
Jodi Bignell says
We just started raising rabbits for meat and our boys are ready for butcher. I can’t wait to try this… It sounds amazing. Thank you! I’ll update you on how it turned out!
Olga says
Sounds good!
Hanna says
What white wine would you suggest for this recipe? I just made this dish and it was delicious! I used a Sauvignon Blanc and even though it was still great the sauce was almost a little too acidic.
Olga says
I used Pinot Grigio when I made this. I’m glad you liked the rabbit!
Sean Jones says
What is a good time of year to hunt fresh, wild rabbit, inorder to try this wonderful looking recipe. Would like to not buy the meat, thinning a small heard around my place, get into my garden.
Olga says
Wild rabbits are the best! Especially since most rabbits nowadays come from China; and they are always sold frozen.
Benjamin Shirk says
The best time to harvest Rabbits is after the snow flies.
Scott Albea says
In Georgia, USA, rabbit season is mid-November til the end of February. I, too, am choosing to hunt for this recipe rather than purchase.
Olga says
Wise choice Scott! My rabbit came frozen from China and definitely not fresh.
Tracey Stabielli says
Very delicious! Garlic wasn’t on the ingredient list, but it was in the directions. We LOVE garlic so I added 7 cloves of fresh garlic for a 2 lb rabbit. Perfect! Thank you for the recipe. 😋
Olga says
I updated the directions! I’m glad you liked the rabbit.
Chuck says
We made chicken with this instead of the rabbit. We ate it all!
Alice says
I wish I had found you earlier. I just butchered 6 this weekend and spent way to much time cutting them down for freezing. Can’t wait to try this!
Olga says
I’m very impressed that you got your own rabbits. My frozen rabbits came from China!
Louise says
We too eat rabbit meat quite a bit. What I like Thebes’s most is that it’s so lean there’s hardly any fat. The sauce is amazing and pretty straightforward thanks
Olga at Whatsinthepan says
I’m glad you enjoyed it!